WHEN you're on holiday in a sweltering city like Rome, nothing cools you down like an ice cream.

But four British holidaymakers were left with a bitter taste in their mouths after their simple cones set them back a staggering £54.

Roger Bannister, his wife Wendy, was with his brother Steve and his wife Joyce in the Italian capital when they decided to grab some take away 'gelati'.

The party were hit with the eye watering 64 Euro bill after they stopped at the Antica Roma ice cream parlour and bar, close to the famous Spanish Steps in the city centre.

Mr Bannister, a company executive from Dudley, near Birmingham, said: "They didn't even say thank you when we paid - I'm not surprised - how can they get away with charging more than £50 for four ice cream cones?

"The cones had three flavours and a couple of wafers but if we wanted whipped cream that was another three Euros on top each.

"We knew prices were expensive if you sat down but we took the ice creams away - how much would it have cost us if we had sat down!?"

The group were on a six day holiday to Rome and the incident happened on the final day of their break and Roger added: "It's incredible. How can they get away with charging that much ? It's just not nornal. It's left a really bad taste to what was up until then a lovely holiday.

"Up until then we'd had a brilliant time but that left a bad taste in the mouth - quite literally. To be honest the ice cream wasn't that nice either. We'd had better ones earlier on in the holiday.

Now tourist chiefs in the ancient city - famous for its rip off taxi drivers and inflated prices - have been left red faced after the incident was highlighted in local media.

"I felt I had been ripped off but what could I do?" added Mr Bannister.

"There was a shop full of people and they were waiting to pay so I handed over the money.

The horrifying bill came to more than £50

How can they get away with charging more than £50 for four ice cream cones?

Holidaymaker Roger Bannister

"I did say to the girl when she told me 64 Euros 'Are you sure?' and she said yes.

"The cones weren't even that big. They had three scoops on and three flavours.

"I didnt get a flake or sauce just a couple of wafers. I had coconut, pistachio and cherry and I made sure the others and myself ate them slowly and enjoyed them.

"In fact when we came out Steve had just had his foot run over with a suitcase and was complaining and I said 'Never mind your bloody foot eat the ice cream carefully it's just cost me64 Euro."

He went on: "When I told a woman in a shirt shop just down the road she said I should have called the police - especially when I told her I hadn't seen any signs with prices on in the shop. "It's a great city but ripping off tourists like this doesn't do the place any favours."

Details of what happened to the group only emerged after a passing councillor Matteo Costantini stopped to talk to them after spotting them talking about the price they had been charged.

He said: "They were justifiably outraged at what they had been asked to pay.

"It's scandalous and should not be allowed to happen. This is not the first time tourists have been caught out like this and it sadly won't be the last.

"There needs to be a clamp down on places like this that charge extortionate prices to unsuspecting tourists.

"It does nothing for the image of the city and will probably put people off coming here.

"We get this with cafes and bars all the time and taxis as well as guides and there needs to be tough action against these people."

Mr Costantini added that he had personally offered to refund the money to the group but they had asked him to donate it to a charity instead.

He added: "That was a very fine and noble gesture.

"I apologised to Mr Bannister and his group for what had happened and I hope it didn't spoil their holiday."

However the bar in question was unrepentant - a staff member who refused to give her name - said: "The prices are clearly on display.

They got what they asked for. Four ice creams - it's not even our cheapest cone, our most expensive is 25 Euro but they could have picked a smaller one for two or three Euros.

"They got 16 Euros worth of ice cream each - almost a kilo. What more did they want?

"We get this all the time - we had a similar incident last week with a group of Spanish tourists but the prices are there in black and white.

"If they don't want the ice cream they can go somewhere else."

Carlo Rienzi, president of Italian consumer group Codacons said: "This is a true scandal, which not only affects the tourist industry but the image of the city."

In 2009 a restaurant near Piazza Navona, one of the city's most popular squares, hit the headlines after overcharging a Japanese couple for dinner to the tune of 695 Euros.